Languages of Tanzania
Languages of Tanzania | |
---|---|
Minority | Many Bantu, Cushitic and Nilotic languages; Hadza, Sandawe, Omaio |
Signed | Tanzanian sign languages |
Keyboard layout |
Tanzania is a multilingual country. There are many languages spoken in the country, none of which is spoken natively by a majority or a large plurality of the population. Swahili and English, the latter of which was inherited from colonial rule (see Tanganyika Territory), are widely spoken as lingua francas. They serve as working languages in the country, with Swahili being the official national language.[1] There are more speakers of Swahili than of English in Tanzania.[2]
Overview
According to Ethnologue, there are a total of 126 languages spoken in Tanzania. Two are institutional, 18 are developing, 58 are vigorous, 40 are endangered, and 8 are dying. There are also three languages that recently became extinct.[2]
Most languages spoken locally belong to two broad language families:
Tanzania's various ethnic groups typically speak their
Additionally, several Tanzanian sign languages are used.
Language families
Major languages
Major languages spoken in Tanzania include:
- Niger-Congo
- Bantu
- Bemba
- Bena (592 thousand, 2 009)
- Chaga
- Digo (166 thousand, 2009)
- Gogo (1.08 million, 2009)
- Haya (1.94 million, 2016)
- Hehe (1.21 million, 2016)
- Iramba
- Luguru (404 thousand, 2009)
- Makonde (1.47 million, 2016)
- Ngoni
- Nyakyusa
- Nyamwezi (1.47 million, 2016)
- Nyika
- Pare
- Rangi (410 thousand, 2007)
- Safwa (322 thousand, 2009)
- Sonjo
- Sukuma (8.13 million, 2016)
- Swahili
- Tongwe language
- Tumbuka (400 thousand, 2007)
- Turu
- Vidunda language
- Yao (630 thousand, 2016)
- Zanaki
- Kerewe
- Nyambo
- Gweno
- West Kilimanjaro (Meru)
- Bantu
- Nilo-Saharan
Minor languages
Languages spoken by the country's ethnic minorities include:
- Khoisan
- Khoe
- Hadza (possibly a language isolate)
- Sandawe (possibly a language isolate)
- Khoe
- Afro-Asiatic
- Indo-European
Extinct languages
See also
References
- ^ a b "Tanzania Profile". Tanzania Gov. Tanzanian Government. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
- ^ a b "Tanzania". Ethnologue. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
- ^ "Languages of Tanzania". Ethnologue. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
- ISBN 978-9987-676-09-5
- ^ "Tanzania Ditches English In Education Overhaul Plan". AFK Insider. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
Further reading
- Nurse, D. and Philippson, G. (2019). CLDF dataset derived from Nurse and Philippson's "Tanzania Language Survey" from 1975 (Version v3.0) [Data set]. Zenodo.
External links
- Languages of Tanzania at Ethnologue site.
- Map of languages of Tanzania at Ethnologue